Love in the Third Degree
by Material Girl
Summary: This is an oldschool style LJ love slash hate fic. It involves a bet! Surprise! Wow, I just realized this is one of the older LJ fics on ffnet!
1. The Bet

A/N: Ok, my first fic, blah, blah, blah. I would really appreciate reviews!! If I get like 10 I'll continue with this, if not well then...I don't wanna think about that. O ya, there is also a realllly long like flashback thing in this chapter, i didn't mean to make it that long, but it just kept going... so basically the majority of this chapter is just a flashback of how the bet came to be. ok, 'nuff said i'll shut up! 1 last thing- this chapter is short, the next ones will be longer!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these Harry Potter characters, they belong to J.K. Rawling.  
  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
Chapter 1  
  
Lily Evan's eyes scanned the Gryffindor common room. "Where is he?"   
  
"Who?" She winced when she heard his voice from behind. Lily wasn't prepared for James Potter to be standing right behind her.  
  
"Er...you actually," she tried to recover quickly from the surprise.  
  
"What do you want to bother me with now Evans?" James looked quite irritated with her, as he usually did. "I've got Quidditch practice in five minutes and I'm positive whatever you've got to say to me is not as important as practice."  
  
"Oh really, what makes you say that Pot- I mean James?" Lily's voice calmed down as she realized what she was trying to accomplish. Her thoughts drifted back to a conversation that took place last night in the dormitory...  
  
  
  
~"So what should we do tonight?" Lily asked, looking extremely bored. She was sitting on her bed.  
  
"Let's go see what Sirius is up to, he's always fun to be around," suggested Megan Anderson, a pretty blond haired, blue eyed seventh year Gryffindorf, not to mention Lily's best friend.  
  
"You're just saying that because your in love with him!" Lily laughed.   
Megan blushed and looked around nervously to see if anyone heard, but Lily just laughed again.   
  
"Don't worry no one else heard, they're all fast asleep."  
  
"I DON'T love him Lily, I just think he is soo cute. It doesn't matter anyways because even if I did love him he only has one girl on his mind."  
  
"Who?" Lily asked only mildly interested. However she became much more interested when she heard the answer. "Well, you of course. He's always staring at you and smiling at you."  
  
"I don't think so Meg, I mean he's best friends with Potter and you know how much he hates me." Megan thought for a second, then shook her head. "I can tell, I mean every guy has his eye on you. You could have any guy you want. Well, every guy but James. I mean he's got a new girlfriend every week and then there's the fact that he hates you. I bet he couldn't keep a girlfriend for two weeks straight. He gets bored really easy."  
  
"You really think I can't get Potter to fall head over heels in love with me?" Lily asked almost to herself. She had a sly grin on her face.  
  
"Lily, what are you thinking now?"  
  
"I was just imagining laughing at that messy haired boy's face after telling him that I had just pulled the biggest prank on him..."  
  
"Do you think you can actually get James to go out with you? Are you feeling well? I mean, you do hate him, don't you?" Megan had a little smile on her face.  
Lily also had a smile on her face, but it was just getting bigger and bigger. "Of course I do, that's exactly it. It would be priceless to see that idiotic grin wiped off his face."  
  
Finally Meg couldn't resist anymore and smiled widely. "Ok then, let's make a bet. I'll bet that you can't get James to go out with you AND keep him for two weeks."   
  
"Fine, I agree. I'm up to the challenge. 15 Galleons says at this time next week James Potter will be completely, 100% in love with me."  
Lily stuck out her hand, and Megan shook it, both of the girls smiling...~  
  
  
  
"Evans, Evans? Hellooo?" James was waving his hand in front of Lily's face, bringing her back into the present. "So is there a reason you're bugging the hell out of me again? Oh ya, I forgot you just do that for kicks." He seemed even more annoyed now. "Well?"  
  
Lily did her best to smile sweetly. It was hard, she was this close to yelling out at him all the comebacks she had to his question. Instead, she just said calmly, "Well, I was wondering if you could help me with Transfiguration... I mean, if it's not too much to ask."  
  
The black haired boy eyed her suspiciously. "Actually it is too much to ask, I've got much better stuff to do with my time than hang around with you in that stuffy library." Lily looked surprised for a second, then quickly changed put back on her smile. "Please James! Er...I can help you with Charms! I know it's not your best subject, but it is mine. You need to do good in Charms for N.E.W.T.S., so why don't we do both of us a favor and help each other out?"  
  
James thought for a second then responded. "I don't know what you're up to Evans, but whatever it is my answer is..."  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well that's it! How is it? I know, it has faults, many faults, but if you want to help me out ( and you do of course, don't you?) then PLEASE REVIEW!! Constructive criticism is welcome, along with flames.... im a pyro, what can i say? :) Also, is it N.E.W.T.S or just N.E.W.Ts, I don't know it was taking too long to look it up. Got any ideas about what should happen? What should James' answer be? Ya, i better shut up now, i'm out of control, i'm just kinda happy cause i actually wrote a whole chapter! and i got 100% on one of my finals!! yay me!! PLEASE REVIEW, if u got ne questions about nething, ask them in the review and i'll explain in the next chapter or rewrite some of this one!! thanx ~RosePetal~  
  
  
  



	2. Dragons, Dreams, and James...

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or any magical things, they all belong to JK Rowling. :)  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
Chapter 2  
  
  
".....euh, let me think...no!" With that James turned around and left in a hurry for Quidditch practice.  
  
Lily sighed and fell back into an overstuffed chair by the fire. She hadn't expected to be turned down so quickly. She started to think of another approach when Megan came skipping down over to Lily, giggling.  
  
"So, it isn't easy as you thought, is it?" Lily mumbled to herself somewhere along the lines of 'stupid Potter.'   
  
"Well, he was just in a hurry, if we had more time I'm sure he'd say yes." Lily said, as if reassuring herself. "Besides, there's always tomorrow!" she smiled at Megan, who rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say Lily..."   
  
"Oh, just forget about Potter, let's get started on our History of Magic report, it's due tomorrow, and I haven't even started!" Lily was trying to get off the subject of her failure.  
  
"Can't, I've already finished it, plus I've got to go write an owl to my parents, they get worried if I don't send one about, oh, every day! They are way too over protective of me!"   
  
Megan walked up to the girls dormitories, leaving Lily to get started on her homework. Professor Binns had assigned a two foot (A/N: I know it's supposed to be feet, but for some reason this sounded better!) long report on the history of giants. So far Lily's parchment looked like this:  
  
The history of giants began with  
  
She had a lot to do, so she got down to work. After nearly three hours of writing she looked finished, leaned back into the comfy chair and fell fast asleep...  
  
*****  
  
In front of Lily stood a giant, grinning maliciously at her. She was scared, very scared. The giant stomped towards her laughing evilly. Lily tried to run, but her feet wouldn't take her anywhere. She was near tears when out of nowhere James Potter appeared, sword in hand. He tried to protect her, but the giant just laughed and ate James. (A/N: this part is really stupid and pointless, but I just had to put in SOME kinda dream. So if you don't like this just skip over the dream!!) Then the giant turned to her and called out her name. "Lily?Lily?"...  
  
"Lily?Lily?" Megan was standing in front of the chair that held Lily, gently shaking her awake. "Wake up!"  
  
"What? Giants? James?" Lily said groggily, slowly attempting to rise up from the chair. "OK, you have been working on this for WAY to long." Megan said this, yawned, and yanked Lily's arm to get her up. She pulled her all the way up to the girls dorms where Lily instantly fell into her bed, dreaming of more giants, and of course James Potter.  
  
*****  
  
Lily awoke up early the next morning, her head swarming with last night's dream. 'Why the heck was a dreaming of James Potter? O well, he ended up getting eaten,' she smiled to herself.  
  
She decided to get the day started early, heading down to breakfast alone, but half way down the stairs she stopped. Her report! She was staring at the table in front of the chair where she had fallen asleep the previous night. On the table Lily's books, quill, and scribbled on parchments were scattered all over, but missing was her two foot long parchment that she had worked on so very hard last night.  
  
Lily was frantic, she began searching through the mess, while thinking how she could have done this. 'I can't believe I left it here! I must have been too tired last night and forgotten, how could I have been so stupid! Potter must have gotten a hold of it some how.' Finally giving up, Lily packed up her stuff and headed for the Library to hurriedly rewrite her report. 'I'm definitely going to get him back for this!'  
  
*****  
  
An hour and a half later Lily scurried to her seat in History of Magic, her first class of the day. Looking down at the sloppy looking parchment in front of her, she had decided that this was not her best work.   
  
Megan was in the seat next to Lily also viewing the report. "Why weren't you at breakfast, I waited for you. And what happened to your report? Er...I mean, usually your papers look a little...neater..." Megan was trying her best to not sound like she was insulting her paper.  
  
"Yah, well usually my papers aren't stolen by a certain, annoying, black haired boy," Lily snapped back at the wide eyed Megan. "Sorry, it's just that I've spent the last hour rewriting this stupid assignment and it's not nearly as good as the original. I'm also wondering what Potter did with my real report, I mean it's not his style to just steal my assignment, there has to be more to it." Lily thought hard, but was interrupted by the dull Professor Binns.  
  
"Well class, I see that most of you have your reports done." Peter Pettigrew face grew red as the Professor looked at him sternly when emphasizing 'most.' Lily felt a little sorry for the short boy, a friend of James Potter and his gang. Lily was just thinking of how different he was from the rest of the bunch, when James, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin ran into the room and found seats in the back corner of the room. Lily rolled her eyes, it was just like them to come to class late.  
  
Professor Binns didn't even give them a chance to explain, he just simply said, "Ten points from Gryffindor boys, this is the third time in a row that you've been late to my class." Sirius didn't seem to care much, he was quite used to it.   
  
The class continued on, listening to the Professor drone on and on about trolls of the 16th Century. Lily looked over at Sirius, who was sleeping on the desk, his head propped up on his History of Magic book. She wondered if what Megan said was true, if Sirius really did like her. He was cute, very cute in fact. Megan noticed who Lily was staring at. "So you do like, Sirius, don't you?" she whispered making sure not to get the attention of the teacher at the front of the class still lecturing on trolls, sounding if it came straight a text book (which it most likely did).  
  
"No, I don't like him, but I do have to admit he is *extremely* cute" Lily whispered back, holding back giggles. The girls both became silent, trying their best to follow along to what was going on in the class. For Lily it wasn't working. Now her thoughts were turning to Remus, he seemed like a quiet boy in class, but she knew better. He was always in on the pranks James, Sirius, and Peter (even though he wasn't much help, not being too good at any particular subject) were pulling, mostly on Lily. Still, overall Remus was probably the nicest of the marauding bunch. In fact, he was one of the first people she had met when coming to Hogwarts, he had helped her with the tricky platform.  
  
Now that Lily thought about it, she couldn't really think of why she didn't like Remus, Peter, or Sirius. Probably the only thing holding them back from being friends was James. He caused all her problems!  
  
After what seemed like hours the bell finally rang. Lily immediately ran up to the table where James and Remus were stuffing their books into their bags, Sirius lifting his head off his book realizing that class was over. When he saw Lily he instantly straightened up. "Why hello Lily, what brings you over here?" he said grinning at her. She smiled back but then turned to James. "You!"   
  
"What about me?" James asked her attempting to look innocent.   
  
"You know what I'm talking about! What'd you do to my report? I know you stole it!" Lily was having a hard time controlling her mounting anger.  
  
"I know nothing of this alleged 'stolen' report."  
  
"Oh, just the cut the act James, I know you did something with it! And now, thanks to you, I'm probably gonna fail this stupid class!" Sirius stepped back, with a hint of a smile on his face. "We better be going," he started tugging on Remus and James' robes. "We'll talk to you later Lily!"  
  
Once safely out of the way from Lily, Sirius and Remus turned to James in the hall. "What'd you do that for?" Sirius asked sounding slightly annoyed, "You know I like her! I want to be on her good side!"  
  
"I couldn't help it, I mean it was the perfect opportunity. Last night I came in really late from practice, and saw her sleeping at that paper just sitting there. She's doing better than me in History of Magic, so I figured it'd be to my advantage if she had a little set back. I mean, one little report won't hurt her!" James didn't look even slightly resentful for what he did. "Besides, she doesn't like you!"  
  
"Really then, who does she like?" Sirius asked curiously. Remus just stood to their side, observing the whole thing.  
  
James laughed, "This is hillarious, but she actually likes me!"   
  
"What?! Ya right, you wish!"  
  
"Hey, I don't like it better than you, but last night you should have seen the way she was acting towards me! It was really scary. She actually called me James and even offered to tutor me in Charms!"  
  
Sirius did not look pleased, so he stalked off toward Potions, dragging Remus behind him.  
  
Meanwhile, Lily stayed behind to explain to Professor Binns what happened. Of course she didn't tell him the whole story, she simply explained that she misplaced it and she was extremely sorry for the condition of her report. He simply nodded, leaving Lily to pray that he'd feel even just a little sorry for her and grade her higher.   
  
Walking out of the room she thought about the mess she'd gotten herself into. 'Why did I make that stupid bet? I can't stand that Potter! This is going to be much more difficult than she originally planned..." Her thoughts drifted to the another approach she could take as she walked down the stairs to the dungeon for Potions...  
  
  
  
A/N: I didn't like how this chapter turned out, but o well. I decided to go ahead and write even though I only have 9 reviews!! I kinda hurried this along, and that first part was completely pointless. And sorry for any errors, i wrote this in ahurry, but i did run it through spell check!!But neways, please review!! Thanks to:  
Kelley Belly  
kjm (is that supposed to be kim?)  
:) (cool name)  
Ana:)  
kjsehfagjkwflqhnafwkoenjafkgynajfh (whatever, thanks!)  
Snowbear  
Twilight and Silence  
Ariana  
ginny5  
  
thanx!!  
  



	3. Some Stupid Choices

Disclaimer: I own nothing! It belongs to J.K. Rowling!!  
  
A/N: OK, it's been a looooooong time since I wrote chapter two and you all probably thought I forgot about this poor little story...well I didn't! I've just been a little sidetracked, by, er..natural disasters and such. Ya, so anyways please R/R, it'll most likely help me put up the next chapter faster. :) Feel free to give me any ideas on how this story should go (even though I'm pretty sure I've got it figured out!). On to the story- o wait! this is probably messed up, so im gonna revise it a couple times!! ok, here we go-  
  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
  
Chapter 3: Some Stupid Choices  
  
  
It was 12:30 in the morning and Lily was creeping back to the Gryffindor common room, trying her best not to caught in the halls of Hogwarts so late at night. She had left the library ten minutes ago after yet another late night of studying. She had an important test in Transfiguration the next day and was trying to go through every book in the library containing the word. 'Well,' she thought to herself as she finally reached the Fat Lady, 'now it's all up to luck.'  
  
As Lily whispered the password and stepped thought the portrait hole-ignoring the women in the painting giving her a disapproving look- she stopped as soon as she was inside the cozy room the Gryffindors called home. Four heads had turned and looked to see who could possibly be ruining their chance of seizing revenge on Snape.   
  
"What are you doing Evans?" James looked even more annoyed with her than usual, and had his normal amount of coldness in his voice he reserved only for her.  
  
"I might be asking you guys the same thing...Care to tell me what you're plotting now? Anything to do with any of our delightful Slytherin friends?" Her voice was laced with a touch of victory, knowing she had caught them at the time they least wanted her to.  
  
"None of your business," James said calmly, the remaining three of the group seemed to be quite intent enough just listening.  
  
"I know, I just think you guys could stand to be a little nicer to Snape. I mean, why are you always picking on him? Give the guy a break." This time her voice was filled with actual concern. She did have to feel some amount of pity for the target of the four boys pranks.  
  
Sirius finally seemed ready to speak up. "Come on, Lily. This is Slimy Snape we're talking about here. You know, the one who knows all the Dark Arts and can recite the '50 Reasons I'm Better Than You' by heart. I mean this guy is a slime ball." Sirius' voice also seemed to be brimming with true concern for the red head.  
  
"Well, I'll find out what you guys are planning later. I need to get some sleep. Goodnight, Sirius, Remus, Peter...James. Have fun doing whatever evil things you guys are doing." She smiled at them and crossed the room to the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories.  
  
The four friends looked at each other, each a little surprised by what had just occurred. "Did anyone else something different about Lily just now?" asked Remus, appearing to be thinking hard about something.  
  
"Yeah, she actually left us alone and was attempting to be nice to us..." James trailed off not knowing how to explain what he was thinking in his head.  
  
"And she called James, well James. I don't think that's ever happened before," Peter added, looking at the other three wondering what could possibly be happening, not really comprehending all that was going on.  
  
Sirius remained silent, but a simple look at his face and his emotion was given away: jealousy.  
  
*  
  
Meanwhile Lily was sneaking into her bed trying her hardest not to wake the others in her room. She peered at the other girls already fast asleep in their beds. Megan, looking as calm as always. Therese, looking like she was having some kind of wonderful dream by the way she was smiling in her sleep. 'Probably imagining herself with Potter again...Doesn't that girl ever give up?' Lily smirked when she remembered overhearing Therese declaring how much she loved James to her best friend, who was occupying the fourth and final bed in the room. Samantha looked unreadable, even in her sleep. She was the one Lily knew the least about of the three other girls she shared her 'home away from home' with.   
  
Lily thought back to how she had acted in the common room. She smiled when seeing the surprised look on the guys' faces after she had suddenly done a total 180 in her attitude towards them. At first she was how she usually around them: suspicious, annoyed, and out to get them into trouble. But then of course she had to remember her bet. So that's how she came upon her 'nice' act.  
  
Tomorrow was another story though. Yes, tomorrow she would finally get Potter to declare his love for her. That made her bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing as she imagined him doing this in front of the whole school in the Great Hall. Now all she had to do was come up with a plan...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Stop there? I think not...let's continue, shall we?  
  
  
  
*****  
  
The next morning Lily was slouching her way to the dungeons for Potions. She had been in a depressed mood ever since breakfast when she had smiled at Potter. Let's just say he didn't smile back. To add to it, she had gotten her History of Magic paper back. The little talk with the ghostly Professor Binns hadn't helped much, which you could tell by looking at the grade on the paper.  
  
As she entered the cold, darkened dungeon, she took a seat next to Megan, who looked at her in a worried way. "Are you OK? I looked for you so we could walk here together, but I couldn't seem to find you anywhere."  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure I'm OK. Have I ever told you how hard it is to pretend to like someone when they are diminishing your grade?"  
  
"Oh, you're upset about the bet we made, are you?" She was about to dig into her, but quickly reminded herself she was supposed to be Lily's friend.  
  
Just then the bell rang and Professor Gris told them to settle down. Lily heard snickering behind her and turned around to see what was so funny. Of course, it was Potter and his little friends. 'How did they get in here without me noticing?' She decided not to worry herself and looked back at the professor who had started to explain why potions are so important to the werewolf, but after that the affect of not getting much sleep the previous night hit Lily. She could barely keep her eyes open, let alone listen to what he was droning on about.  
  
Meg, on the other hand, was taking down notes. She was the exact opposite of Lily homework wise. She always seemed to be on top of things. Lily felt someone nudging her in the shoulder. Looking around she realized class was over, as everyone was packing their bags and leaving. As she stood up to leave, she glanced at Potter who happened to be talking to a very interested Therese. 'Damn it! I need to get his attention!' She was about to ask Megan for suggestions but realized she had just left after Lily had ignored her. 'Oh well, two can play at that game,' she thought as she disgustingly watched Potter talking to Therese.  
  
Her eyes wandered around the room and landed on Severus Snape. 'Perfect,' was the word on her mind as she smiled to herself. She simply went over to where Snape was standing and as he looked at her wide eyed, started to kiss him.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, that's enough for now...I'm tired and I need to wake up in 6 hours. Hmm....so whaya think of Lily and Snape? or Sirius? or James??? Give me feedback!! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! I'll respond to your reviews in the next chapter (if there is one! bwahaha) so pleaze r/r!! and i'll prolly rewrite this today, so keep checkin it!! this chapter is kinda messed! it'll speed up soon, don't worry!! think of this as a mini-chapter, im already writing chap. 4!  



	4. Endless Circle of Jealousy

A/N: Yes...well, here's the fourth part...now you will learn if Lily's plan worked...or sunk faster than the Titanic (I don't know where I came up with that, I've been watching too much 'Weakest Link' ~sigh~) Ugh, yeah...don't give up on me yet!! This isn't a Snape/Lily fic!!!!!!   
  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
  
Part 4 ~ Endless Circle of Jealousy  
  
How we left the last part:  
  
Her eyes wandered around the room and landed on Severus Snape. 'Perfect,' was the word on her mind as she smiled to herself. She simply went over to where Snape was standing and as he looked at her wide eyed, started to kiss him.  
  
***  
Lily closed her eyes while she kissed him, not daring to open them and remind herself just exactly who she was kissing. After a few moments she pulled back from Snape, who looked like he had utterly shocked. He started to stutter.  
  
"Li-l-ly?" he finally managed to get it out.  
  
"Oh, sorry Sna- Severus, I've got to go, but I'll talk to you later, 'k?" she told him, for lack of anything better to say. Without waiting for a reply she glanced at James and left the dungeon. She gave herself a small smile, because by the horrified look on James face, her plan was working. As Lily made her way to the Charms classroom she made a decision: no more kissing Snape, she would have to find some other great way to win Potter over...  
  
****  
  
Charms was never boring with James and Sirius in the room, and today was no different. The two troublemakers (actually it was mostly Sirius' work, as James wasn't doing so swell in the Charms department) had charmed Peter's quill to follow around Professor Flitwick, repeatedly poking him in the head. Flitwick was unsuccessfully was trying to stop it, but couldn't because of the fact that every time he tried to point his wand at the quill behind him, he just ended up going in a backwards circle. Much of the class found this amusing, but Lily wasn't one of them. She happened to excel in this class, (not that she didn't excel in every other one) and did not appreciate them making a mockery of it. However Lily chose to remain silent, not wanting to get on James' bad side, pushing away the part of her mind that was telling her she was already on his bad side.  
  
Another thought flashed through Lily's mind, and she turned around and smiled at Sirius and giggled. He looked a little surprised and smiled, but suddenly the corners of his mouth went downward, as if he remembered something unpleasant.  
  
"James here just told me that he and Therese saw you kissing SNAPE! Is this true?!"  
  
"Well...yes it is," but Lily wasn't looking at Sirius when she said this, she was trying to read James' expressionless face. It seemed to look anxious. 'Is that a good thing?' she asked herself.  
  
Just then class was over, so Lily gathered her things, preparing herself for Transfiguration.  
  
*****  
  
That night after easily finishing a report on the origins of the Unforgivable Curses for Defense Against the Dark Arts (she was Head Girl of course, sadly Head Boy was James Potter), Lily spotted Sirius sitting in an armchair chatting with James and Peter. She smoothed down her slightly curly hair and approached Sirius and the others.  
  
"Hey guys, where's Remus?" Lily did her best to seem polite.  
  
"Erm...I think he went to bed early tonight," fumbled Peter, although Lily didn't believe him, but she wasn't going to concern herself with that now. She was here for another reason.   
  
"Oh, well that's probably best for him, he had seemed really tired recently."  
  
"Yeah, you're right Lily, but let's get back to this you-kissing-Snape thing," Sirius seemed very willing to interrogate her on her afternoon activity with the Slytherin.  
  
"Why do you want to know about it, are you jealous?" Sirius grinned and shrugged at this.  
  
"Maybe...so are you going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"  
  
Sneaking a glance at James' face, Lily replied, "I haven't decided yet. Why do you want to know?" James appeared to be angry about the goings on between Sirius and her. The made Lily happy. Very happy.  
  
"I was just hoping that'd you be free so you could go with me. So how 'bout it?" he asked her eagerly.  
  
"Sure, I'd love to! I better get up to bed though, need to rest up!" At Lily's reply Sirius grin grew even more.   
  
"Great, see you tomorrow at breakfast!" Sirius called out that last part as Lily turned and waved as she ran upstairs to the girls' dormitories.  
  
*****  
  
"I can't believe you did that!" Megan had sprang out of her bed as Lily was explaining how she and Sirius were going to Hogsmeade together the next day.  
  
Lily grinned. "I know, it's a great plan, isn't it?" she said, but the look on her friend's face said otherwise. Megan started shrieking at a shocked Lily.  
  
"YOU KNEW I LIKED HIM! AND YOU'RE GOING TO USE HIM TO WIN A BET AGAINST ME? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE??" Finally, Meg lowered her voice. "Do you know how many things are wrong with what you just told me? A guy you don't have any interest in, but you know I have a serious crush on, you are going to just use? You know, I used to think you were really nice, but now I've realized what you're really like. You're going to completely ignore Sirius' feelings? Have you thought about how much it's going to crush him when he finds out you were just using him to get to his best friend?" Megan ended in a 'huff' and slipped back into her bed, facing away from Lily.  
  
Lily sighed and changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, reflecting on her day. 'Well, on one hand James is really jealous of me and Sirius, but on the on the other hand I've lost my best friend because of *her* jealousy. And Sirius probably was provoked to ask me out because he was jealous that I had kissed Snape, and Snape was always jealous of me because I had better marks than him. So really, this is just one endless circle of jealousy.'  
  
Just then Therese and Samantha came into the dorm giggling. Lily pretended to be asleep, not wanting to deal with the questions Therese would ask about her and Sirius, but she soon realized that wasn't what they were giggling about.  
  
"Yeah, and then he asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him, and of course I said yes," Therese was talking excitedly to Samantha, who was nodding, with a supportive smile on her face. "The best part though was after I agreed he kissed me! Right in the middle of the common room, in front of everybody!"  
  
The girls continued to giggle as throughout the night Therese went on and on about what a 'great kisser James was, how cute he was, how smart he was,' Lily thought she was gonna hurl up her dinner!  
  
'Wait, why do I care what James is doing with Therese? Oh yeah, it'll make it harder for me to win the bet! That's it...It doesn't have anything to do with feelings or what I was thinking about earlier...'  
  
Lily drifted off to dreamless sleep, too exhausted from her days work of screwing up her life. 'At least my plan of kissing Snape was right...' was the last thought she had that night.  
  
However, there was one thing she was completely wrong about: Her feelings about Therese and James *were* important. She was not a part of that endless circle of jealousy.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: ok...that ending was stupid, but im not gonna change it now. i just have one thing to say: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!! THAT'S WHAT THAT BOX BELOW IS MADE FOR! PLEASE GIVE IT A REASON FOR LIVING!! Not that you guys haven't been great so far!! Just giving you a *friendly* reminder!!  
  
So thanxx to all of those who have reviewed:  
  
Rach  
Clara Maplewood  
DarkAngel009988   
Mamasita  
Ana:) (numerous times!!)  
Victoria  
Arabella  
~*Charmsangel*~  
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C.  
Kyle  
Kitten Kisses  
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Emilly  
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Queen of the World  
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Lilly Potter  
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**Lily Potter**  
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:)  
kjsehfagjkwflqhnafwkoenjafkgynajfh   
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ginny5  
  
Thanxx to you all!!  
  
  
  
  



	5. A Trip to Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it's all J.K. Rowlings.  
  
A/N: This is an 'edited version' I found some typos in it so i had to fix em. i'm writing chapter 6 now, so it should be on ff.net in a few hours if all goes accoring to plan!  
  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
  
Chapter 5  
  
A Trip to Hogsmeade!  
(For lack of better title!)  
  
  
Lily woke up the next morning, in a hurry to get the day started. There was a couple things she needed to get done, the main one being having a really great time with Sirius at Hogsmeade, showing James that she would not be out done by Therese.  
  
A half an hour later Lily was walking to the Great Hall, hoping to get a good breakfast to start a good morning, but what she saw made her angry. Sitting at the Gryffindor table was James and who else was next to him but Therese. 'Was Therese put on this earth just to aggravate me?' she asked herself. 'I mean, I had no problem with her before, but now that she's ruining my chance of winning the bet she is going to have to be dealt with.'  
  
Calming herself down, Lily approached to the table and found a seat next to Sirius. She sat down in it, giving Sirius the biggest smile she could muster. It was hard though, seeing Therese and James smiling and laughing with each other, her hand on his arm as she laughed at one of his stupid jokes. 'Ew, I hope I don't have to act *that* way around him to get his attention.' Therese was inching closer and closer to James until she was practically on him. 'But then again, I *did* kiss Snape...James can't be that much worse, can he?'  
  
She was startled as Sirius brought her back to her main task of the moment: Sirius.  
  
"So, should we leave as soon as we're done with breakfast?" he asked semi-sweetly, clearly trying to hide the fact that he was anxious to get away from all the Hogwarts students in the Great Hall, and spend time with the red head sitting next to him.  
  
"Yeah, I can't wait!"   
  
"Great. By the way, James and Therese are coming with us, you don't mind, do you?" he asked her, motioning toward the very close couple across the table.  
  
"Of course not, as long as we get a *few* minutes alone," Lily replied, as she scooted closer to Sirius, who looked like he could fall over in happiness.  
  
'God, I can't believe I'm doing this! I never act like this!' Lily had realized that the bet was no longer about just winning some extra money, but she made it her goal to prove Megan wrong.  
  
Megan still hadn't came down to breakfast, but Lily moved the thought out of her head thinking, 'Who cares, if she wants to ruin our friendship over a boy, *I* wasn't the one who overreacted.'  
  
She turned back to Sirius, ready to get out of the loud Great Hall, she sweetly asked him, "Actually, I'm not that hungry, I'm ready to go if you are."  
  
Sirius smiled and turned to James. "So how 'bout it James, ready to go now?"  
  
James looked a little out of it but replied with a 'yes' without even bothering to ask Therese.  
  
*****  
  
The two couples were now making their way to the Three Broomsticks, James glaring at Lily while she chatted with Sirius, and Therese looking adoringly at James. As they entered the inn, Sirius went to get drinks as the other three sat down in a booth, James and Therese on one side, Lily on the opposite.  
  
"So...Lily, how are you and Sirius getting along?" Therese asked, trying to get a conversation going.  
  
"Really great, we get along so wonderfully!" James frowned at this for a second, but then turned to Therese.  
  
"Actually, how about you and I go somewhere else?" he offered to her. Lily didn't like this at all. She needed James there to actually witness how much she and Sirius were 'getting along' so she could see the jealousy on his face. Plus she didn't like the fact that James liked Therese enough to go off somewhere "alone" just to get away from her.  
  
Sirius returned, struggling to carry four butterbeers, whose foam was slopping over the side. He grinned as he sat down next to Lily. Wanting to act quickly in case James was leaving soon, she kissed Sirius, straight out on the lips.  
  
His eyes seemed to pop out in surprise, but soon he was soon so into the kiss that they seemed to go back to normal. Lily finally pulled out of the kiss ('The human body needs oxygen,' she told herself).  
  
James had a strange look in his eyes ('Disgusted? Surprised? God forbid- *Jealous*? Lily thought to herself with a smile) as he pulled Sirius out of the booth, muttering "Sirius, we gotta talk."  
  
"Wow Lily! I never expected that from you! You really like him, don't you?" Therese all of a sudden had forgotten about James and was focusing on what had juts occurred. Lily blushed as she said this, but remained silent until James and Sirius returned, both looking slightly angry at each other.  
  
"So what's the plans for today?" Therese asked in her normal perky way.  
  
"Actually, Sirius and I decided we should go our separate ways, you know, just me and you and...Lily and him."  
  
"OK..."  
  
They said their quick good-byes as Sirius and Lily started to walk along the streets of Hogsmeade.  
  
"So what were you and James talking about?"  
  
"Well...." Sirius seemed apprehensive.  
  
"And tell the truth, whatever you say won't bother me."  
  
"All right, we were talking about you. James seems to think that it was treason, me going out with you. And he said some things about you... *bad* things about how fast you were moving along with me..."  
  
"What? What'd he say? You can tell me!" She added the last part when Sirius shook his head at her. After a few moments he continued.  
  
"He said you must be a slut for 'snogging with me', he said we've never gone out before and already you were 'all over me.'"  
  
However, Lily just brushed if off.  
  
"Like he should be talking! Have you seen the way he and Therese act? Geesh!"  
  
"Good, I didn't want his stupid words to get to you, I didn't think they would. It's just..." Sirius trailed off, looking like he didn't want to continue.  
  
"Go on."  
  
"It's just that, lately you seem to be acting differently around me, sometimes even James. You used to give us looks as if we were the most immature creatures you'd ever seen. And know you and I are really getting along, and you aren't making nasty comments towards James anymore. And not to mention you kissed Snape. Just tell me, honestly, if there is something you're hiding."  
  
Lily looked uncomfortably at Sirius, who didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Of course not. In the past few days, I've seen a whole new side of you, you're funny and charming, and not to mention extremely cute. And as for James, I've decide to at least be civil to him."  
  
Sirius' smile returned.  
  
"I'm sorry I questioned you, but I had to hear it from you."  
  
"Oh, that's ok, forget all about it, let's just have a good time. What do you say to heading back to Hogwarts early and hanging out in the common room?"  
  
He nodded in agreement and they made their way back.  
  
*****  
  
Three hours later, Sirius and Lily were still chattering away on a couch in the common room, Lily's head resting on Sirius' shoulder as they talked about Quidditch.  
  
"I still don't see what's so *great* about it, I mean from the stands it's just a whole bunch of brooms zooming around!" Lily said, laughing.  
  
"But that's just it! I mean, it's action packed, and as Keeper, I can block anything coming my way," he said, a tad bit arrogantly, but Lily was distracted for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she saw James and Therese coming through the portrait hole, as close as ever, so Lily needed some quick action.  
  
"Yeah, well can you block this?" she asked him as she started to kiss him for the second time that day. As this continued, James stopped dead in his tracks. Therese ignored him and pulled him over to an armchair across from the couch Lily and Sirius were occupying.  
  
Therese cleared her throat rather loudly, and the couple across from them jumped apart, both blushing clearly.  
  
"Look, if you want to snog, *atleast* help us out by getting a room."  
  
Lily stole a glance at James, who looked like he wanted to strangle Sirius.  
  
"Well, um, I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna go take a nap. I'll see you at dinner," she told Sirius as she bent down and gave him a peck on the cheek.  
  
"Yeah, you should be tired after all *you've* done today," James muttered under his breath after she had turned and was heading toward the stairs leading to the girls' dorms.  
  
*Unfortunately* for him, Sirius heard him, which he acted out when he lunged at James and attempted to pummel him.  
  
*Luckily* for James, Lily quickly had grabbed her wand and had Sirius was quickly bound.  
  
"LILY! What'd you do that for? He just insulted you!"  
  
Lily held his arm to calm his down, then quickly got rid of the ropes that had been restraining him.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry I did that, but I didn't want you to get in trouble for beating James up."  
  
"Ha, as if he could ever beat *me* in a fight," James finally spoke up. Lily had to use even more strength to hold Sirius back this time, but he pulled out of her small arms and stalked up to his room without a word. James left through the portrait hole, and Lily and Therese were left there, starting at each other in silence.  
  
*****  
  
Lily really had decided to go to bed, she had had enough of this mess. 'Why did I get myself into this?'  
  
After falling asleep, she was awoken an hour later by Megan who had stormed in the room, sharing her first words with Lily that day.  
  
"I heard what you did! I can't believe you've got him defending you, having him betray his best friend, all so you can win some bet. You know, I would call it off, but I want to lower your already high opinion of yourself. You think you can do anything, well, I'm going to make sure you lose this bet!"  
  
She left without another word.  
  
*****  
  
As Lily headed down to dinner, she was thinking about what Megan had said to her. 'Of course it's all true. I mean, how can one damn bet make two pairs of best friends become divided? I hate to admit it even to myself, but I *am* changing. I used to be sweet little Lily, always helping someone with their homework, and never using people like I am now. What's happening to me...?'  
  
She took a seat next to Sirius, who was uncharacteristically silent. James was pretty much the same. Megan, was chatting with a sixth year further down the table. Therese was trying to get James in a conversation, but failing miserably.  
  
'This is all because of me,' Lily thought glumly as she poked at her steak and potatoes. 'There is only one thing I can do to end this: win this bet ASAP. Tonight I'm going to corner and MAKE him like me, whether he likes it or not!'  
  
Lily planned all this with a little smile on her face, which could easily be mistaken for an evil grin.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, it's really hot and I have a Geometry test first period I need to study for (grr, circles!), so I'm just gonna end it like that even though it makes no sense what-so-ever. Lily has turned into a real bitch in this chapter, I mean she's kinda evil...You wanna know y? the simple answer is I'm watching "Blond" the story of Marilyn Monroe my icon, even though she did *many* immoral things. So that's my bad influence for now. :) ~Sigh~ 'All or Nothing' by O Town is on the radio... such a good song!   
  
In the next chapter: Depends on reviews, if I get a lot then I'll move things faster and James and Lily will actually have some ROMANCE! But if you decide to neglect that box, well then, let's just say 'I'M A GOOD PROCRASTINATOR!!!'  
BWAHA!   
  
Ok, I'm done! O yeah, I probably had lots of sp mistakes, my spelling check sucks, and I'm just going to asssume that Black was Keeper. Got it? So please REVIEW! If you do I'll keep you in my prayers tonight! ;) Thanks for all the reviews so far!  
  
  



	6. Chatting With James

A/N: OK, I'm freakin out, last time I was writing my last chapter I was complaining about how hot it was, and now it's like 40*!! Grr...any ways, enough w/ my problems...wait I'm not done. I have decreed something that any reader of this story should know:  
  
From now on I'm not going to start writing the next chapter until I get an average of ten reviews per chapter. Am I selfish? Yes. Do I really care? No. So for all you people who suck @ math (I'm happy to say I'm not one of them.), this means that before I write chapter 7 I want 60 reviews (cause this is chapter 6...) The reason I'm doing this is to see how many people actually read this, and what people think of it. So even if the review is just something along the lines of 'Cool chapter, please write more' or 'It'd be cool if __________ happened soon', it still counts as review. OR you could simply write 'Good' or 'Bad'. (For all you lazy ppl) So if this means having to go back and review an old chapter (Yes, ppl u CAN review my story 6 times now by reviewing every chapter!!) do it!!!!!! In return for the reviews I will try my best to make longer chapters (Bout 10k) Thanxx.   
  
Now on to the next chapter. I'm upset by the last chapter, it was kinda depressing, so I'll try to make things better! ENOUGH AUTHOR'S NOTES!!  
  
Wait one more! OK, i realized after I uploaded this that I used the word 'notice' like 7 times in two sentences! so I changed that. hopefully it's a tad bit better  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Chatting With James  
  
  
  
Lily looked up from her still full plate of steak and noticed that James was heading back to the Gryffindor tower. Without even thinking about what she was doing, she started to follow him from a good distance, ignoring the strange looks Sirius was giving her.  
  
James didn't seem to realize her following him though, and seemed very out of it, including when a fourth year girl accidentally ran into him. He just continued walking, looking as though he was really thinking about something.  
  
'Potter, thinking? Everyone seems to be acting strange since this bet started...'  
  
As Lily watched him reach the portrait hole, mutter the password, and step through, she thought of what she should do next. Should she just walk up to him and start talking? Use her wand to trip him, then coming rushing to his aid?   
  
But Lily didn't have time to do any of that, James was already shutting the door to his dorm, before she realized she wasn't allowed in the boys' dorms.  
  
'Oh, screw the rules for once!' she thought to herself. 'For once just do something without thinking about it for twenty minutes!' It wasn't her brain telling her this, it was definitely something else inside her, that had only started to come out recently.  
  
Lily certainly wasn't thinking when she quietly hurried up the steps towards James' dorm, then politely knocked on the door.  
  
"Er...James? Can I come in?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"Get away Evans, I don't need you bugging me or bragging about Sirius right now," he said, sounding slightly muffled through the other side of the door.   
  
She ignored this, and hastily walked into his room.  
  
"What the-? Evans!" James shouted at her as he grabbed the green blanket off this bed in an effort to cover himself. "What are you doing in here? You're not allowed in here!"  
  
Attempting to suppress a giggle as she grinned at James, who was clearing in the middle of getting changed when she barged in (It seemed to Lily that he was only wearing some scarlet boxers and an undershirt.), she brushed him off and went to sit on Sirius' bed. She remembered sitting and listening to him talk about how great his Quidditch sheets were earlier that afternoon. ('My mom added the little dancing broomsticks,' she had told him.)  
  
"Calm down James, I just came here to talk to you." Lily smiled at him as she leaned back onto Sirius' oversized pillow.  
  
"About what? How you stole my best friend? How much I hate you right now?" Now James was glaring so much she couldn't stand to keep in contact with his eyes.  
  
Looking away she said, "Look James, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything! I just want to reconcile. I know you hate me, but that doesn't mean I hate you!" Lily was wondering how she was managing to get all this out. It wasn't like she meant it, was it?  
  
"I just want to talk with you, get to know you... maybe even become friends with you?"  
  
"What??! Are you going crazy Evans? Don't you think I remember all the times you acted so better than everybody else? 'Oh, my mum gave me this beautiful new set of quills for Christmas!' or 'Wow, I got a perfect score on my Potions test!'"  
  
For some reason she didn't know, Lily's eyes were started to form tears. 'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself as she fought back the battling tears.  
  
"I never said any of that and you know it! How can you be so cruel!" Screaming at James, she stormed out of the room and down the stairs, and back up to her dorm, now sobbing.  
  
'I know why I started crying... my parents...oh, why did he have to remind me of them? It's barely even been a year! I miss my mum so much! I don't want to spend the rest of my life with Petunia! That'll be too much for me!'  
  
Finally all that Lily had been carrying on her shoulders for the past year had seemed to come out. All her fears of not finding a husband and having to be stuck with her awful sister and her just as horrid fiancé was too much bear. She had barely survived the summer with the two.  
  
She just kept asking herself, 'How could one little sentence bring all of this on? I think I've finally realized that I'm almost 17 and in a little over six months I'm going to be on my own. My parents were married when they were barely even older than me now, and I don't even have a boyfriend...This is all Voldemort's fault! If only my parents were still here, they could help me, give me a shoulder to cry on, some kind words here and there. I could at least owl them...but I can't now. I've got to move on. Live in the present.'  
  
Lily's eyes were now dry, and checking her silver watch she realized that any one of her fellow Gryffindor seventh year girls could come in any minute and see her crying.  
  
'Well, I won't let them see me this way. Toughen up, Evans. Let's get back to the task at hand. I should probably go apologize to James.' She straightened out her slightly ruffled robes, took a deep breath, and went back to James' dorm.  
  
*****  
  
"Who is it?" James asked, sounding the way he usually did around Lily: annoyed.  
  
"It's Lily, and before you say anything I just want to say I came to apologize to you. Now before I come in, are you dressed?"  
  
"Fortunately, yes, this time I am."  
  
Lily walked in to the room for the second time that night, looking around. The room was vacant except for James. Once again, she took a spot on Sirius' bed.  
  
"OK, I just thought I owed you an explanation of why I blew up at you earlier. It's just..." Lily swallowed, and continued, avoiding the surprised look on James face.   
  
"Well, I haven't told this to anyone except Megan, but my parents died a little over a year ago, and when you mentioned my mum, it was like being reminded all over again." James looked like he was going to say something, but she continued.  
  
"And it's not just my parents, it's my sister. I'm so afraid of having to spend my like with her until I can live on my own. I've only got a little over a half year left at Hogwarts, then I'll be back at my sister's until I turn 18. It's just so frustrating!"  
  
There was silence for a few moments and then-  
  
"Er...well, I guess I forgive you then for, uh, yelling at me." He didn't seem to have much to say until, "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna forget about you stealing my best friend. I mean, he used to fun before you came along, but now all he does is talk about you. And I don't want you messing with him, I know you have something up your sleeve if you're being nice to me. I'll make you a deal."  
  
"What kind of deal?" Lily seemed to have some of her spark back.  
  
"You tell me why you're acting nice to me, and *really* nice to Sirius, when you always treated us like fungus before. Oh yeah, and why you kissed Snape," he added, scrunching up his face in disgust.  
  
"And what do I get out of it?"  
  
"Well, first of all I won't put up flyers telling of your 'affair' with the Slytherin slime himself and I won't rat on you for being in a boys' dorm. Because, if those were too some how get confused and mingled that could look really bad for you..." his mischievous grin returning.  
  
Lily studied him. "You wouldn't dare."  
  
"Oh I would and I will. So do you accept or decline?"  
  
"Of course I decline. Not that I have anything to hide," she added a little too hastily.  
  
James looked at her distrustingly. "Fine, have it your way. At this time tomorrow, everyone will know what Lily Evans and Severus Snape were doing all the times they had to stay behind after Potions lessons."  
  
"Oh, do shut up!"   
  
"Make me," he replied squarely.  
  
"Oh, I'll make you all right," she said as she lunged at him. As she was about to slap him in the face, they both landed on his bed with a thud, James holding her wrists, preventing her from doing so. But just then...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, that's all for now. Must get to bed, tomorrow's Friday!! Yeah! 3 day weekend! Pools open! Memorial Day rocks! Even though RIGHT when the pool opens the temperature drops from 80s to 40s!! Has the world gone mad????  
  
R/R!! (Remember, 60 reviews needed! Share your thoughts!) I know this chapter sucks but whatdaya gonna do? (Some may say rewrite, I say shut the f- never mind!) :)  
  
PS-The next chapter will be called "Irresistible" (best song!!)!   
  
  
  
  



	7. Flying Lessons

A/N: OK, I was gonna put up this story early (when I only had like 56 reviews) but then THE ELECTRICITY IN MY HOUSE WENT OUT ALLLL NIGHT! (SOME TORNADOES OR SOMETHING) So when I got on this morning I found out I really did have 60 cause of the wonderful ~*Roseland Black*~ who reviews *4* times...so it was like perfect timing! Read the A/N at the end of the story to read a preview for the next two chapters (they'll be the last!). Sorry if this is a boring chapter, it's leading up to bigg stuff.  
  
OK, onto the story:  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Flying Lessons  
  
Someone behind them laughed. James and Lily instantly sprung apart, each jumping to either side of the bed.   
  
"Er...what's going on?" Sirius was the one who had laughed, but it wasn't his normal laugh. He seemed nervous and hopeful that there was some reasonable explanation for what he had walked on.  
  
"Well, you see, James here was just blackmailing me, and we got to fighting, and well, you saw the rest."  
  
Sirius didn't seem to think this was sufficient information. "Really...well I have a couple questions then, the first one what you were doing up here in our dormitory."  
  
"I just came here to make amends with James over everything that has happened, I had noticed that he seemed a little detached recently. I simply came to ask if anything was wrong," Lily said smiling her most charming smile at him as she told him this.   
  
James finally spoke up. "Yeah right, you probably just wanted to hex me when there was no one to see."  
  
Apparently Sirius chose to ignore this, continuing his questioning of the two. "All right then, but I still want to know one more thing. What is the blackmail about?"  
  
Lily promptly answered with a laugh. "James thinks I'm up to something, and he told me that if I didn't tell him what 'my secret plan' was that he was going to start some really nasty rumors about me..." She trailed off.  
  
"What kind of rumors?" Sirius asked with a slightly parlous sound in his voice, looking directly at James.  
  
James looked irked that his 'best friend' was being so treacherous. "I just warned her Evans that rumors can be easily mixed up...Especially ones that involve her and Snape, I mean it's no secret that Therese has a big mouth, and she did witness the event. And then there is the fact that she sneaked up here into the boys' dorms. I can't help it that she goes sneaking into forbidden places."  
  
Lily let out a laugh when he said the last part, thinking it really hypocritical of him to say such a thing.  
  
"Come on James, you wouldn't, I mean she's innocent girl." Lily smiled when Sirius said this of her, but then frowned, knowing it wasn't true anymore.  
  
"Whatever, all I know is that right now I want her out of this room. She just walked in here without knocking! I was changing!"  
  
"What!" Sirius turned to Lily. "You saw him naked?!"  
  
At Sirius little out burst Lily couldn't contain herself and started laughing. "Of course not silly, he had his boxers on."  
  
"Oh, that just makes everything all right then," he replied back sarcastically.  
  
"Are you jealous Sirius?" She just couldn't resist asking.  
  
James looked annoyed that she would ask that. "Why would he be jealous? Wait, never mind, I don't care why you think the things you do. Just get out of my room," he said, pointing toward the door.  
  
Lily sighed, and told James, "Fine, I'll go, but not because you told me to, because I've got homework to do." She gave Sirius a kiss, said goodbye to both boys, and headed down to the common room. She immediately noticed Megan talking with some sixth year boy. Megan also noticed when Lily had came down the stairs, but just glared at her for an instant, than turned back to the sandy haired boy.  
  
Walking up to the girls' dorms, Lily started to think what she could be doing wrong. This was taking much longer than she had expected, in the beginning she had just expected James to become so jealous he *had* to like her. That didn't seem to be happening, though. Instead the opposite was occurring... 'Maybe James *doesn't* like me at all, maybe I haven't been giving him enough credit. He's more unyielding that I thought.'  
  
She continued to think about the way James and Sirius were acting toward each other. 'Well at least they aren't mad at each other anymore, I think their over there little fight. I'm glad their back to being best friends again.'  
  
Lily gathered the books she needed in order to do her Potions homework and decided to set off to the library to get some work done without distraction. She grinned when she arrived at the library. 'I love the library, I can always count on it to be the same old boring place it always is. The perfect place to work peacefully.'  
  
After finding a table and spreading her books out, she began her work. After a half hour of silence (apart from the swish of Madame Pince's wand sorting books behind her), the library doors opened. Lily looked up to see that it was Sirius entering the quiet room.   
  
'Sirius, in a library?' she thought to herself, making her smile.  
  
"Hey, how is the homework coming along?" he asked, a grin spread across his face.  
  
"Great, I'm actually done with everything, I was just reading ahead in Charms."  
  
"Perfect, so you wouldn't mind accompanying me for a ride around the Quidditch field, would you?" Sirius asked her with a pleading look in his eyes.  
  
Needing a break from homework, Lily readily agreed. "I'd love to, but..."  
  
"But what? Are you planning another rendezvous with James?" he smiled as he said this, but Lily couldn't help wondering if he really was jealous of the two.  
  
"Well, for one, I don't have a broom, and two, I HATE FLYING!" She didn't say the ending in a mean way, but more of a frantic way.  
  
"Oh yeah...I forgot about your whole 'fear of flying.' This would be the perfect time to get over it. You can't depend on floo powder to get you everywhere you know."  
  
"Ok, I'll give it a chance, I know you wouldn't let anything happen to me." Lily did truly believe this, she knew Sirius was a real friend, and wouldn't do anything that could harm her.  
  
"Let's go then, we need to stop by my dorm to get some stuff."  
  
Lily looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of stuff?" she asked, eyeing him. He replied with a "You'll see" and dragged her back to the Gyffindor common room and up the stairs into the seventh year dorms. James, who was reading a book ('History of the Modern Broom'), looked up at them distrustingly.  
  
"What are you guys doing up here now? I know I've told you guys to get a room, but I didn't mean *my* room."  
  
"Don't worry James, we just came to borrow some stuff. I need your broom and cloak." Lily looked at Sirius strangely.  
  
"Why do we need his cloak, why can't I go get mine, or borrow one of yours?" she asked.  
  
James didn't seem happy about either request either. "What are you playing at Sirius? You know we can't tell her about the cloak, let alone let her borrow it. And my broom is staying put."  
  
"Please?? We can trust her! She wouldn't do anything to harm either item. Pretty please??"   
  
'Sirius is looking really pathetic. It must be really important to him,' James thought, then sighed aloud. Lily was still utterly confused by the whole cloak thing.  
  
"Fine, I'll let you borrow them under one condition: I get to come with you."  
  
Sirius quickly opposed to this idea. "You don't need to do that James, I was just going to give Lily a private flying lesson. We needed the cloak to get out there unseen."  
  
James shrugged slightly, saying, "Well I guess you don't really need the broom or the cloak." Lily was very agitated that she was not being informed on what was so great about this 'cloak' of Potter's.  
  
"All right, all right, have it your way, you can come with us. Can we all fit under the cloak?"  
  
Lily couldn't take it anymore. "WHAT IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT ABOUT THE STUPID CLOAK?" she screamed at the two boys, who stood looking at her, an astounded look on their face.  
  
"Geez, *sorry* Evans. Maybe I shouldn't let you guys borrow it." Lily was about to protest when Sirius came up behind her, grabbed her around the waist and put a hand over her mouth, muffling her disagreements.  
  
"Lily is sorry about the disrespect she showed toward your wonderful cloak, isn't she?" Lily finally gave up and nodded. Sirius took his hand off her mouth, but kept an arm around her waist.  
  
Calming herself, she asked, "So will you guys just explain to me what is so special about his cloak?" James looked apprehensive, but Sirius nodded toward his trunk. James opened it up and took out a silver cloak. Lily was in awe.  
  
"Is that...is that an invisibility cloak?" she managed to stutter out.  
  
"Yup, it is indeed. And James here is the proud owner of it. *That* is how we have managed to get away with so many of our famous pranks." Despite not wanting Lily to know about one of his greatest secrets, James couldn't help but smirk proudly. Sirius continued, "So if everything is in order, are you guys ready to go?"  
  
James and Lily both nodded. Now to the task at hand, getting three seventeen year olds to fit under a large, but not overly large cloak. James quickly took charge of the situation.  
  
"Ok, Evans since you're the smallest you can be in the middle." Lily quickly snatched the cloak from James and wrapped it around her. Meanwhile, James was shrinking his and Sirius' brooms so they could fit in the pocket their robes.  
  
"It'll be a tight fit, but I'm sure you guys can fit in," she informed them. "By the way," she inquired as the other two went on either side of her, James on her right and Sirius on her left, "how did you guys manage to get you two and Remus and Peter in here? I know they were in on most of the pranks."  
  
Sirius provided an answer to that, "At first we could all fit under here easily, but after second year we had to go in pairs. Peter usually got stuck as a look out because he always tripped under this thing." James laughed as he remembered those days.  
  
"So, are we completely hidden?" Lily asked as the three stood in front of Sirius' full length mirror, double checking for any feet showing from under the cloak. James could tell Lily was still getting used to the fact that she was invisible and she looked at her reflection with amazement.  
  
"I think we'll be ok, just remember small steps and keep quiet, people can still hear you. Sirius, remember when we almost got caught when Remus coughed in front of Binns?" Lily noticed that James eyes sparkled with amusement under the cloak. She had never seen him look this way in front of her (except, of course, when she was the target of a joke or prank). It made him look...almost normal.  
  
James noticed Lily looking at him and gave her a quizzical look. She blushed and quickly turned away.  
  
'God, what am I thinking, looking at Potter like that??' she asked herself.  
  
Sirius cleared his throat and they slithered through the dorm door, into the common room, and out through the portrait hole. The three teenagers had quite a challenge of walking silently and steadily under the cloak.  
  
"Ouch!" James let out when they were nearing the doors that led out of the castle. "Evans, watch where you put your feet!" he hissed at her as he tried to control the pain in his foot. She ignored him as they slipped down into the Hogwarts grounds and made their way to the Quidditch field.  
  
All three quickly pulled off the cloak as they reached their destination. Lily pulled out her wand and whispered a quick "Lumos" as light came out of her wand. By now it was very dark and the light was a much needed help. The boys took out their brooms and with an "Engorgio" they were back to the full size. Lily grabbed for the Cleansweep James was holding, but he quickly pulled it out of her reach.  
  
"Slow down Evans. There are some rules you must know before using this beauty," he said while stroking the perfected piece of wood. Lily huffed and sat down in the grass.  
  
"First and foremost, if you harm it in any way I have the authority to kill you," he told her while she rolled her eyes.  
  
"Ok, ok, I *swear* I won't hurt it or you can kill me. Let's get this show on the road." James nervously handed it to her and she handled it with some amount of care.  
  
"Ready, Lily? Mount your broom and meet up about twenty feet," Sirius instructed her. She just stood there as James started to laugh at her from the stands. "What's the problem Lily? You *do* know how to mount a broom don't you? We learned that in the first year."  
  
"Yeah, well about that...don't you remember how I kinda never got that far?" she asked in a much smaller voice than her usual one. Anyone could tell that she was embarrassed.  
  
"Hey, well that's ok...that just means I get to help you more..."  
  
The next hour was pure torture for Lily and pure boredom for James. Lily, however, was always up to a challenge, and refused to go back inside until she knew the basics to flying. And James was having a good time laughing at her every time she fell and Sirius had to go rushing to help her. At least she hadn't wrecked his Cleansweep yet.  
  
"So we've made it to twenty feet up...ready for thirty?" Sirius was trying his best to sound like he wasn't tired to death and James was doing his best to not fall on the ground laughing. Suddenly had a great idea that would definitely get James attention.  
  
"Actually, I think this would go a lot better if I had someone on here to help me steer this thing. That's what I'm having the most trouble with." Lily thought his had to work, because he would definitely stop laughing at her if she was sharing a broom with Sirius, or even better James.  
  
Sirius looked as though he was thinking about this, then slowly started to nod his head in agreements. "Yeah, that should work," he told Lily. "Hey, James!" he yelled down to his best friend as he and Lily descended back down to the ground (Lily did so in a rather jerky way).  
  
James walked toward them. "Done already?" he asked, smirking at Lily as she attempted to straighten her robes.  
  
"Actually, Lily here had an idea. She thinks it would really help her if you would help her with her steering."  
  
"And how do you propose I do that?" James asked Sirius, but he was looking at Lily.  
  
"Well, you could get on your broom with her."   
  
James looked as if that was the most insane idea Sirius ever came up with (and Sirius *had* come up with quite some ideas before). "And risk suicide? I don't think so."  
  
"Come on James, don't make me beg for the second time this night! She just needs a little help, that's all. I'll give you my bag of chocolate frogs if you do."  
  
James sighed and took the broom Lily was holding in her hand. He easily mounted it. "Are you gonna just stand there or are you gonna get on here, Evans? I don't have all night!"  
  
Lily quickly scrambled onto the broom, taking position behind James. He looked at her if she was the biggest git he had ever seen.   
  
"What did I do wrong now??" she asked anxiously.  
  
"Well, how do you expect to steer from behind me?"  
  
Lily quickly got off again, and took position in front of James.  
  
"Ok, are you guys ready?" Sirius asked, waiting on his broom to their left. They both nodded, but James' nod was much more confident than Lily's. Sirius easily glided up very high.  
  
Lily was about to kick off, when James put his hand over hers. "You're doing it all wrong Evans," he told her. He moved her hands so they were positioned the correct way. "Ok, that should work now."  
  
In a moment they were up in the air, James right up against Lily's back, with his arms around her shoulders, keeping her hands in the correction position. As they got higher Lily let out a scream.  
  
"Settle down, you're not gonna fly off." This was true Lily reminded herself. James was wrapped around her so tightly there was no chance of her falling off. It was a comforting thought.  
  
They steered toward Sirius who was waiting patiently on his broom with a smile on his face.   
  
"See, it's not so hard Lily, is it?" he asked her. Lily couldn't help but smile, she was really starting to like being up on the broom with James.  
  
'Wait a second...since when I have liked James?' She smiled. 'I can't help it, who *wouldn't* like being in this position, lying against James Potter...Maybe I'm going crazy, or maybe I'm just tired...yeah, that must be it..."  
  
Her thoughts snapped back to reality when Sirius asked her something she hadn't heard.  
  
"What? Sorry, I started to drift off, I think I'm getting tired."  
  
"I was just asking you what you think of flying now? You seem to like it by that smile on your face." Sirius was grinning. Lily had to suppress a frown and the urge to say, 'Yeah Sirius, the reason I have this stupid grin on my face is because I'm in love with your best friend, not you.'  
  
Luckily, she didn't say that. Instead she responded, "Er...I'm really liking it now that I'm doing it right, but I'm getting really tired. Do you think we could call it a night? It's past midnight and I'm really tired."  
  
"Sure, that sounds fine by me, I think James here is ready to get off that broom too."  
  
The three headed back to the ground and Sirius went to grab the cloak from the other side of the field and reduce the brooms again. That left Lily and James standing awkwardly alone.  
  
Lily spoke up. "It was really nice of you to help me, I've always been too afraid to go up that high before," she said, looking in his eyes for a glance at what he was thinking.  
  
"Yeah, well I didn't do it for you, Sirius is my best friend despite of his choice of girlfriends," he muttered, not looking at her. Lily was trying to think of what to do next, and acted suddenly.  
  
Lily leaned in an gave him a peck on the cheek. "It was still really sweet of you," she said blushing.  
  
"Why the hell did you do that?" he asked coldly, looking in her in the eye. That was the last thing she had expected. She mumbled out an answer, tears forming in the corner of her eyes, threatening to come bursting out in any second.  
  
"I just wanted to say thanks...Tell Sirius had to go."  
  
And with that she ran off in the dark toward the castle.  
  
  
A/N: James is acting liking a git, isn't he? That's boys for ya. Well, that's probably the longest chapter I've written so far. Sorry if it was boring, but it's leading up to much bigger things. I'm planning two more chapters, so there will be 9 chapters total.  
  
Preview of next chapter: Secrets, secrets hurt someone... ;) Someone becomes very vindictive  
  
Preview of chapter 9 (the final one!): two sets of 'couples' end up snogging, one you will expect, and one you don't want to think about (but I'm still putting in the story, it adds to it ;) bwahahaha). Things get wrapped up...  
  
PS- PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!  
  
IM NOT MAKING ANY DEMANDS LIKE LAST TIME (BWAHA), BUT THE MORE REVIEWS I GET THE MORE ENERGIZED I GET TO WRITE MORE!!!!!!!!! SO.....  
  
LOTS OF REVIEWS=CHAPTERS GETTING OUT FASTER !!  
  



	8. Secret Revealed

A/N: Yes, yes, I know, I haven't posted in a REALLY long time, but I'm back. OK, I'm sorry if my chapter aren't exciting as they used to be...I'm soo tired, I've been getting home at like 11:30 every night and then waking up at like 5:30 to go to school, so I'm kinda drained of my energy. So if those chapter doesn't seem as good as usual, don't fret! I'm still gonna try and stick to the overall plan of nine total chapters. I don't know if I'm gonna do a sequel or a prequel or anything, I'll see how many reviews I get! So, onto the story!  
  
Love in the Third Degree  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Secret Revealed  
  
James was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He was pondering the events of the past hour. He knew he shouldn't have been so icy to Lily after she gave him a kiss, but he couldn't help it. He was so confused, his life seemed so different. Apart from Lily being nice to him, there were more important matters.  
  
Like his parents. His parents who he loved, who were no longer alive. It had been one month since they had been killed by Death Eaters and he still hadn't told anyone. Only Dumbledore and a few select professors knew of what happened. James couldn't even bear to tell Sirius, his best friend.   
  
That reminded him of something. Lily had confessed to him that her parents were dead too. That was one of the few things they had in common. Not that he wanted to bond over their dead parents or anything.   
  
'I can't think about that now,' he told himself as he turned over to look at the clock next to his bed. James decided to sleep off his worries, he could contemplate his problems in the morning.  
  
*****  
  
Lily went to bed that night in a rotten mood. 'What's wrong with James? I try to be nice to him and that just pushes him further away.' She wasn't really tired (even though it was quite late now), but she had hurried off to her room to avoid Sirius. She wasn't much in the mood for talking to him and answering the questions he would undoubtedly have.  
  
Instead Lily considered her options. She could give up now, and stop pursuing James, but that had its down points. She would have to nonverbally admit to Megan that she wasn't as great as she thought she was, and plus there was the fact that she was indeed starting to fancy James. It was getting harder to suppress those feelings.  
  
Or she could continue her pursuit. There seemed to be more advantages with that plan. She might actually get James to like her back and show Megan just what she was capable of. 'Yes,' she thought to herself, 'this seems to be the best thing to do.'  
  
And with those thoughts she drifted off to sleep...  
  
*****  
  
The next day was a very revealing one for James, Lily, and Sirius. It all started innocently enough when she went down to breakfast and sat next down to Sirius. James, Therese, Megan, Peter, and Remus were already there, eating their breakfast. Peter, Remus, and Megan were having a debate about illegal potions, and James and Sirius were chatting happily about the next Quidditch match.  
  
When Megan spotted Lily sitting down, she quickly excused herself, but as she was getting up she turned towards Lily.  
  
"Oh yeah Lily, I just wanted to remind you that the bet is up tomorrow, you've only got one more day to get Jamesy here to fall in love with you, so you better ante up your nice act to him." Unfortunately, she did not say this in any sort of a quiet way and the whole table heard. This was known by the shocked faces of James and Sirius.  
  
"What?" the boys asked in unison.  
  
"Oops, did I say that too loud?" Megan asked innocently, but a grin was on her face. "Oh well!" With that she turned around and exited the Great Hall. All eyes at the Gryffindor table were now on Lily. Sirius did not look happy.  
  
"Lily, could you please explain what she was talking about? Because I'm sure she just said that you had a bet with her to get James to like you. And now everything is starting to make sense...," he trailed off as realization dawned on him.  
  
James, on the other hand, had a blank look on his face. Lily saw him and cleared her throat.  
  
"I think we need to talk. All three of us." The boys nodded in agreement and followed her out of the Great Hall.  
  
*****  
  
James silently led them to a passageway behind a huge painting of the countryside. He murmured a password and they entered into a small room. When they were all inside they looked at each other. Sirius finally spoke up.  
  
"So Lily, do you want to explain why you've been lying to us?"  
  
Lily took a deep breath. 'It's time to tell the truth,' she told herself. Then she spilled the whole story, from the making of the bet, to her plan to make James jealous (leaving out the part about liking James of course).  
  
At first while she was telling it, Sirius had an angry expression on his face, but it soon turned to a sad one.   
  
"I can't believe you did this to me Lily," was what he said simply after she had finished.  
  
"I'm sorry...," she started, but had to stop, tears were brimming in her eyes. "I didn't mean to get you involved. It just sort of happened, I didn't know it would turn out this way at all."  
  
Lily turned to face James. "And James, I didn't mean-"  
  
"I don't want to hear it," he interjected coldly. "I already know you're a self centered bitch who only thinks of herself. I mean who cares who you hurt, as long as you win your bet." Lily couldn't stand it anymore and started to really cry. James left her with Sirius.  
  
After a few moments of watching her cry, Sirius said something.  
  
"Why Lily? Why? I mean, I actually thought you liked me. It's not everyday that the prettiest girl at Hogwarts goes out with you. I thought we had something special."  
  
She looked up at him. "Sirius, I *do* like you, but only as a friend. And now I feel terrible for what I did to you. I didn't really think about how *you* would feel after I 'won' James over for the bet." Sirius was about to interrupt but she put a hand up to stop him and continued.   
  
"But do you really want to know the truth? I actually do like James now. Hell, I might even more than like him now. I think I'm actually starting to fall for him. Don't ask me how or why, I just am. Now I know it can never happen though, he truly hates me now, worse than ever. I can't believe I screwed things up so much."  
  
Tears started to fall again, making her eyes puffy and red. Sirius couldn't take it anymore, and he hugged her, rubbing her back soothingly to comfort her.  
  
"I'm so sorry Sirius, will you ever forgive me?" Lily sobbed. Sirius pulled back from her and looked at her face.  
  
"Truthfully? I'm not ready to forgive you yet, but I think someday I will be. I know you mean well overall, but you easily get sidetracked by more exciting things. You need to remember to think before you act sometimes," he laughed slightly while saying the last part.  
  
Nodding, Lily hugged him again. "Thanks so much Sirius. I don't know what I'd do without you. I just wish I hadn't ruined things with James."  
  
"You just need to talk to him. Tell him what you told me. But not now," he said looking at his watch, "we're gonna be late for class. We better get going."  
  
*****  
  
James had avoided Lily all day, not even looking at her. Megan on the other hand kept grinning at Lily in an arrogant way. She seemed to be very please with ruining these peoples lives.  
  
'I can't believe I was ever friends with her,' Lily thought as she made her way up to her dorm after dinner that night. Megan seemed ecstatic that James hadn't spoken all during the meal, but she seemed most upset that Sirius wasn't talking to her. Lily had explained to Sirius how Megan had been treating her and he wasn't being to friendly with Megan now.  
  
'It's time to fix things now,' she reassured herself as she shut the door behind her and sat down in front of her mirror. 'I'm going to ask James for forgiveness and tell him how I really feel about him. It's all or nothing."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, that chapter wasn't so great, in fact it was depressing. But it's 2:30 in the morning and I didn't get home till 1 but I wanted to finish this. I know this was short, but next chapter should be much longer.  
  
Preview of the 9th and Final Chapter: Two separate pairs of ppl snogging, the conclusion to the story, fluff, my attempt at romance, and general funness.  
  
I don't know whether to do a sequel (or prequel for that matter). I might do an epilogue if enough people want one. But my goal for now is just to get chapter 9 done in a reasonable amount of time. And in ch.9 I will do all my thank yous and answers to reviews.  
  
I wish I had a better way to communicate w/readers while writing this series, but I don't know a good way that would work. I thought about making one of those Yahoo Groups, but I don't have enough readers. (Unless I get more! Maybe if I get LOTS of reviews and/or some requests to start a YahooGroup or some other kind of suggestion I'll start one!)  
  
So please, please review!!! Thanks so much for the like 77 I've gotten so far! You're soo nice! I'm gonna try and get chapter 9 out by this weekend while I'm still in a good mood! But first I need some reviews, ideas, suggestions, or things you want to happen in the final chapter!  
  
Ok, enough notes! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!  
  



	9. Please Forive Me

A/N: LOL! It has been OVER TWO YEARS since I published chapter 8 . . . and I got this sudden urge to finish it, so I can at least say I've completed a fic . . . So I'm writing this even though I haven't read my own story in two years, so it might not make sense. But it would go along fine with the other chapters . . . I can't believe I wrote this story! What was I thinking! LOL, I like how in my last author's note (written on 9/3/03, almost exactly 2 years ago) I said I would try and finish it that weekend! OK, so here's my poorly written, non sensible final chapter! Let's see if I can fit in the things I promised in chapter 8...

Love in the Third Degree

Chapter 9

Please Forgive Me

Lily walked down the girls' dormitory stairs and crossed the Gryffindor common room to the staircase leading to the boys' dormitories. She had seen James sneak up there earlier, and was determined to seek him out.

When she reached the door to the dormitory he shared with Sirius, Remus, and Peter; she straightened her school skirt, blouse, and tie, and gave a polite knock to the door.

No one answered it. Lily heard rustling inside and knew someone was in there.

"James! Please let me in! I need to talk to you!" she said in an urgent voice. Still, no answer. She gave up and just walked in, but immediately walked back out.

Megan and Peter had been in there and they had obviously been too occupied to hear her callings.

'Ew,' was all Lily could think. It was time to search somewhere else for James. The next obvious place to look for him was the Quidditch pitch, and of course upon arriving there, she was not surprised to find him there. She was surprised however when she saw him laying in the grass, gazing at the sky, his broom no where to be seen.

Lily started walking toward him when she realized he hadn't even noticed her yet. She considered this an advantage for herself. She quickly strode toward him and placed herself next to him. At this point he noticed her and quickly threw her a glare.

"Why can't you just leave me alone Evans? You already lost the bet, so you can go back to despising me," James said, his eyes never leaving the dark sky above them.

"I don't hate you...I've never hated you," Lily said thoughtfully, slowly inching closer to him. "I mean, sure, we annoy each other sometimes...a lot of times...but I mean, I guess sometimes you're not that bad of a guy...Do you hate me?"

James finally looked at her, and after a moment of silence answered, "No, I don't hate you."

Lily smiled slightly at this, maybe things weren't so bad. But then she remembered the way he had acted when she had kissed him. She had to ask him about it.

"James, I can understand why you'd be cold toward me now, but why did you get so mad when I was nice to you...when I kissed you?"

James was really looking at Lily now, as if he was trying to read her mind. He shifted his body so they were both leaning toward each other, just inches apart.

"Lily, what did you expect? Out of the blue you started being nice to me! I knew you had to be up to something. I thought you were teasing me, setting me up for something. And in the end, I was right not to trust you! I'm glad I didn't fall into your trap!"

Lily didn't know what to say. She had been terrible to him. She didn't deserve any kind feelings from him. He was right to act the way he did. Tears started to form in her eyes and before she knew it they were streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, but there's something I have to tell you. I know you'll probably just throw it back in my face, but I have to say it, or I'd never forgive myself." Lily took a deep breath. James looked like he was trying to hide the curiosity that was apparent on his face. "I like you. I have a crush on you. There I said it," she said quickly.

When James didn't say anything, Lily was sure he hadn't heard what she had told him. She started to open her mouth to repeat herself, but he interrupted her.

"Evans, I told you I don't like the games you play, so can just drop the act," James told her, doing his best to ignore the tears running down her pretty face. She was pretty though, and James did admit that. He wasn't going to let that mislead him though, he knew she was up to something, and he couldn't get distracted.

Silent tears still falling, Lily continued on. "I knew you wouldn't like me back, but Sirius told me to tell you exactly what I told him, and that was that I really like you! I admit, at the beginning of the bet I still thought you were a git. Hell, I still think you act like a git sometimes! But I see you differently now. Even though we don't always agree with each other doesn't mean we can't like each other. But I guess it was useless, because you obviously don't like me back. Lily sighed. She'd done all she could. Her heart was beating rapidly, threatening to jump out of her rib cage. He looked so gorgeous in the moonlight, she just wanted to lean in a few inches and kiss him.

James's thoughts were running along the same lines. On one hand he hated her for what she had done to him. She hadn't thought about anyone but herself. She'd also broke Sirius's heart. Who was to say she wouldn't do the same to him? On the other hand though, she looked beautiful lying in the grass next to him, the only light on her coming from the moon. He didn't know whether to kiss her or tell her to leave.

The kiss won out.

Before he knew what he was doing, James Potter was kissing Lily Evans. She looked thoroughly shocked, he noted smugly to himself. He quickly forgot all thoughts, for he was completely captivated by Lily Evans.

Especially her lips. And her hair. And the smell of her skin.

Every part of her enthralled James. Before he knew what he was doing he had moved so he was on top of her. Apparently Lily had gotten over the initial shock, because she was kissing him back with all she had.

Finally the panting couple detached their lips. James looked down at Lily, who he'd never seen look so flustered before. Her usually pink lips were red and swollen, her bright green eyes were widened in shock, and her cheeks were flushed. She was beautiful.

Lily was looking up at him, entranced by the boy on top of her.

"What just happened?" Lily managed to breathe.

"I don't know."

"What are you expecting from this? What do you want?"

James smiled.

"All I want is you."

A/N: LOL! That ending made no sense! It just ended with a u2 quote...This whole story didn't make sense. I never explained why Lily fell in love with James or vice-versa! This is madness! I don't care! This story is over! It took nearly 3 years, but it's over! Let the flaming begin:)


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